Elizabeth looked around with some wonder, the whole world was paused, a monochrome of gray colors. It..was not the first time she had experienced something like that, she had seen some of her skills freeze time, or well, freeze her perception of time to be precise.

But this? This was different. Her body could move for one, when one of her skills had done that it was always her body the one that didn't move, it was mostly her mind that moved. And most of the time, she dove deep within her Soulscape to deal with something.

But unlike those experiences, this time it was her body that could move. Elizabeth pinged her mana, and sure enough, she could move it normally. She could feel the presence of her skills at the back of her mind, and more importantly, she could see the man they had rescued at Jenna's behest, pretending that he wasn't out of his element.

"What did you do?" Elizabeth asked once more.

"Hah…Yes…this…what indeed…" The man said while looking around, Elizabeth could feel the man attempting to extend some type of skill, weirdly enough, she could feel how he attempted to move his skill around.

And it merely took a thought from her, and she was able to snuff the skill from activating. Weirdly enough she hadn't thought it would be like that, the man stopped pretending and outright opened his mouth wide.

"What?" Arthur Saintsworths said while looking at Elizabeth with both awe and fear.

"What indeed," Elizabeth said while feeling this new sense, it was almost as if it was Elizabeth's skill instead of the skill of someone else, "Identify."

Still, Elizabeth wanted to make sure, so she channeled one of her favorite skills, she felt the magic circle form into her eyes, a reminder of the gift that Sloth had provided her. Sloth really was very compatible with Time, it seemed.

Even so, Elizabeth was still amazed by the efficiency of the skill, unlike before when she was barely able to perceive the status screen of this man; now? Now she could peruse everything about him.

Status Name Arthur Saintsworth Health: 100% Title The Traveler Mana: 100% Passive Title Man Out Of Time Stamina: 100% Man Out of Space Grade: B The Lost One Level 50 Job: Strength 50 Defier of Fate Constitution 50 Job Skills: 10 Agility 59 General Skills: 10 Dexterity 59 Title Skills 2 Intelligence 100   Wisdom 100 Charisma 140

Skills

Job

General

Titles

Time Shift: 100 Time Leap: 100 Time Dilation: 111 Chrono Shield: 222 Time Stop: 333 Forward: 444 Rewind: 555 Temporal Jump: 666 Temporal Stasis: 777 Chrono Anchor: ERROR Identify: 50 Appraisal: 42 Athletic Body: 100 Healthy Body: 100 Manners: 100 Language Understanding: 100 Future Sight: 500 Time Anchor Perception: 999 Timeless Body: NA Paradox Immunity: NA Chrono Flux Chrono Pathfinding

Extra Skill Slots:

Observer Echo of Eternity Chrono Fusion Chrono Echo Immortal Fixed Eternity

"...How are you…?" Arthur said while taking a step back, only for Elizabeth to raise her arm, "Wha?"

And immediately afterward, a wall of shadows rose to stop him.

"How…We are in a time-locked space! Only [Time] should be able to move!" The man screamed as the shadows chained him down.

"Calm down," Elizabeth said waving her hands, "I am checking what the hell is happening, this…is not normal."

And it wasn't; it was the first time Elizabeth had been pulled towards someone else's skill. Not even when Rossie or Rena used their shared skills was Elizabeth able to tap into the skills and ride along. Elizabeth was talented; one could say she was a genius.

But even like that, Elizabeth didn't deceive herself; even with full access to Rossie and Rena's skills; she was not a good Healer, or a warrior; even if she did favor Claymors and Spears, she was not Rena's match.

So, no matter how Elizabeth was tapping into these Time skills, she should not be able to restrain a man whose skillset was built around Time.

"Mira, come." Elizabeth said, pointing towards the blue-haired magical….thing, "Stop pretending to be frozen."

"..." Only for the girl in question to not move.

"Aura!" Elizabeth said, turning to her second most successful minion.

"..." Nothing else.

"Heh," Arthur said laughing, "At least that works as normal."

"Well, it only means that I need to work this out myself." Elizabeth sighed, "Let's start easy then, why are you trying to run away?"

That was the first thing that Elizabeth didn't understand, why was the man they had rescued trying to run away? There shouldn't be any reason for him to run away from them. Jenna was his ally, she had asked for him to rescue this man, granted, Elizabeth was a rogue element on this. But it shouldn't be that bad for him to try to run away.

"I…" Arthur said, trying to move his hands to no avail, "...I am not the man you think I am."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"You aren't a coward who doesn't want to thank the people who worked very hard to rescue him?" Elizabeth asked while arching an eyebrow at him.

"...I am not the same Arthur Saintsworths you remember!" Arthur said screaming, "I know it's hard to imagine, but…I am not the same man you remember, I am from another timeline."

"...I never in my life have spoken with you." Elizabeth said pointing it out, "Only time I saw was on my first day at school, and you gave me a killer headache then."

"...Then…why did you rescue me?" Arthur said, confused, "I had guessed you had some kind of relation with me?"

"Jenna asked me to save you, Lily also wanted us to save you, and Amelia also vouched for you." Elizabeth said, raising one finger for each, "Also, I was told you weren't an ally of the Italians. Besides, I never heard Papa complain about you in particular."

"..." Arthur remained silent, "Then…only because of that?"

"I have done more for way less," Elizabeth said, shrugging, "If anything, you are one of the few that had the better impression on me of [The Twelve] and [The Nine Stars] so far, and that includes the fact that you tried to run away without saying anything."

"....Fine," Arthur said as he stopped struggling, "I…I need to check on something first if we are to continue speaking."

Elizabeth nodded and removed the shadow bindings on Arthur, letting the man drop onto the floor, he dusted off his suit and then closed his eyes, raising his right hand to the sky and pointing his left hand to the floor two orbs of mana formed, one in each hand.

"Under the name of The Traveler, I beseech you, the ancient library that holds the record of all…Tell me the name of this world and timeline…Grant me the true meaning of this world!" As he spoke, the words seemed to resonate with the fabric of reality, the mana within the frozen time sphere started moving, weaving itself into numbers, "[66484]"

"Well, that was meaningless. I kind of expected it to say Zaanam - 616 or something." Elizabeth said, reading the five numbers that now floated in front of them. "So? What great meaning is behind these five numbers?"

"It means…The first two are the defining iteration of the world we are…How many variations of the same things have occurred across the multiple timelines." Arthur said as his mana powered down, his skills started to slow down and soon the world around them was once more one of color. "The next two represent the varying factors that can and must manifest across our history to end up at this precise moment in time."

So…going by that, there are at least sixty-six variations of this precise Zaanam? Or, well, in broader aspects, but at the same time to arrive at the moment Elizabeth was, there would need to occur at least forty-eight world-changing events?

"And lastly…four…The number of variables that must be within this timeline for it to be preserved and not assimilated into another branching timeline." Arthur said falling into his knees, "It means….this is my home…"

"I mean…yeah, I asked Elizabeth to bring you back, Traveler," Jenna said, smiling from behind, moving as soon as the effect of the skill had ended. Had she perceived something? Elizabeth wasn't sure, "I told you before…Or well, I guess you remember me as my younger self? I assure you, you weren't gone that long, but…some stuff happened after [The Advent],"

"Jenan Lewis…" Arthur said, looking up, "You are one of those factors…Is why I didn't mind working as an errand boy for [The Twelve]."

"Didn't know you had a boyfriend…Or well…I hope you didn't HAD a boyfriend, if you really were running around as a little girl as you implied before," Elizabeth said smirking at Jenna who turned beet red.

"...I didn't!" Jenna defended herself, "My less…advanced self didn't have the emotional intelligence to do such a thing…My current self barely has the emotional intelligence to do it thanks to the drip feed knowledge I get from the alternated timelines from my [Echoes]!"

"Okay okay," Elizabeth said waving off at Jenna, "I am not so petty to nitpick other people's love interest, so…will you tell us who the other anchors are or can we move on?"

"...If you are interested…" Arthur said sighing, "Not that it matters to you, but the other anchors are your parents and you yourself Elizabeth Starbright."

"Beg your pardon?" Elizabeth said confused, how could she be an anchor? She…okay she was very special, but special enough to achieve that?

"You being born, your existence is a defining factor in this timeline, your existence is what allows your parents to live happily. Or, well, the birth of a child for them anyway." Arthur said, waving a hand, Elizabeth felt the prod at the back of her mind asking her for authorization, and she allowed it, a second later, "A number for each possibility, number one…The birth of a black-haired girl with mastery over all the shadows on the world from birth…"

An image of Chloe…or, well, Alice? The image of the black-haired girl smiling with Echidna and Papa behind her.

"A world where you were born with the powers of your father instead of your Mother," The image shifted to another Alice, one who was dressed in one of the ridiculous skintight suits of her Papa and was jumping around with a shoulder height hair, still, the image was closer to Alice than to herself, "And then a world where you were born devoid of powers…or the power to control them anyway."

And the last one was of an Alice sitting inside her bedroom, hugging her knees against her chest while the shadows around her danced to a tune…That…that was one lonely girl if Elizabeth ever saw one.

"Wait, where is Mother?" Elizabeth asked, all the previous images showed Alice, not Elizabeth. Meaning…in all of those timelines, she was born from Echidna.

"Lastly…the timeline that should not exist, one where you are born not from who you were fated, but from an impossibility…The timeline where Catherine Starbright didn't die in the First World War…And the one I engineered." Arthur said, showing…an image of Papa shielding Mother from paparazzi during the First World War.

"Oh, I know that photo!" Elizabeth said pointing at the image, "It's where Mother fell for Papa."

It was the image where Papa saw Mother tired and exhausted, and decided to shield her instead of allowing the mass media to take photos of Mother resting, the reason why Mother started to talk more with the government…which ended with a signed treaty were she would help the world following some rules…keyword being some.

"Wait, engineered?" Elizabeth asked narrowing her eyes at the Traveler.

"I…may have tampered here and there to ensure your parents didn't meet as leaders of their respective factions, made sure your Mother had enough girls to fool around, made sure your father wasn't tied by responsibility…" The Traveler shrugged, "It ensured they meet as peers an not as outright enemies, gave chance to love to bloom. But I only gave them a chance…I did not make them fall in love, that's on them."

…That was so weird to find out. The fact…the fact that her parents weren't…well, Elizabeth knew Fate hadn't wanted her parents to marry like they had, it was part of the reason Papa and Mother had so many trouble getting pregnant, and in turn, giving birth to Elizabeth. But still…

"...Thank you I guess?" Elizabeth said somewhat confused.

"It's fine…Living in a timeline with such a precise set of circumstances makes it easier for me to home it down when traveling out far." The Traveler said, shrugging, "It is what makes it easier for me to return back home."

"So, that being out of the way…" Elizabeth said, clapping her hands, "Care to tell us what you were planning to do then?"

"...I was planning to jump out of synch and try to find my way home…This timeline is like a beacon since the anchors are so bright, well…your parents being what they are…where are they anyway? They didn't really ascend, did they?" Arthur asked, looking around, "They never do that."

"...Yeah they did," Elizabeth said nodding.

"They totally did, [The American Crusader] left me in charge while he was gone, and to ensure my little sister was safe." Jenna said nodding afterwards.

"Mistress… I'll return to manage the space foxes, if you need something call me." Sana said from the back while bowing.

"I'll make sure everything is fine, do call if needed." Aura said afterwards while the two purple-haired girls teleported away.

"...I'.. go away….he gives me the creeps." Mira said shuddering, "I'll go find something nice to do on your World in the meantime."

That totally was not ominous at all.

"Why did they leave like that?" Arthur asked confused, "No wait, you said…they….actually ascended? As in…they became gods? Jack did? Catherine? The same Catherine who I sent in a fools errand by sending her a picture of a cute girl that will not be born till the next century?"

"I KNEW IT! HUBBY! I'M USING THE ALLOWANCE FOR CRISIS! I NEED TO SMITE THIS MFER SAINTSWORTH!" The voice resounded within Elizabeth's mind and if the grimace of Arthur was something to go by it also did on his mind.

"Wha-" A flare of mana ocurred right next to Elizabeth and a very confused (And dressed in a very cute night gown) Agatha stumbled as her hands started moving, "Elizabeth?! What is happening?!?!?"

"DON'T STOP ME NOW HUBBY, HE MUST PAY! THAT GIRL WAS UP TO MY TASTES!"

"Wha?!?!? This…this Divine magic?!?!?" Agatha screamed as her body started shining in golden light.

"THIS IS NOT MERE DIVINE MAGIC THIS IS PURE JUSTICE! THIS IS SMITE! THIS IS FOR THE LOVE OF ALL CUTE MAGICAL GIRLS THAT ARE TO BE BORN!" Mother's voice resounded, Elizabeth could (Funnily enough) see the strain within reality as the world seemed to be fighting back at Mother.

"Be fair Catherine!" Arthur screamed back, "She is real! And she will be born! But only if the correct set of circumstances happens!"

".....Really?" Mother's voice sounded more calm now…

"....Please don't toy with my Mother's feelings," Elizabeth said, sighing, "She is a very volatile(And stupid)woman."

"Shush, Elizabeth, we are talking about cute girls. Don't pretend you don't enjoy cute girls too. I have seen what you fantasize about doing with your waifus." Mother's voice resounded fully smirking.

"You perverted-" Elizabeth flared as she blushed, "Those are private!"

"Nu-uh they aren't if you imagine them while thinking 'What would Mother do' and use me as a basis, then they get sent to me! Also, a tip. Your father is the kinky one, not me. What that man doe-" Elizabeth wished she could erase her own memory, the idea of her own Papa doing-

"Enough." The voice of Papa resounded, and the magic circle that Agatha was making stopped, freezing cold.

"Wha-" And before the poor woman could say or do anything else, she vanished as fast as she had arrived.

"Arthur…please don't taunt my wife." The voice of Papa, like always, commanded respect and obedience, "Tell her the conditions, and let's be done with it, you too, Catherine. You know we can just pluck that timeline for you to play around if we want, you could have done just that instead of wasting Prana."

"B-But he started it!" Mother complained like a spoiled brat, which, to be fair, she may as well be.

"I heard that!" Yeah, she was a spoiled girl. "Hubby! Eli-Eli is being rude!"

"It is rude to sniff around your daughter's private dreams. We spoke about it." Papa said, defending Elizabeth's honor.

"But they look so cuteeeeeeeeee." Mother complained, but to no avail.

"Enough, we spoke about it. What happens within her mind is for her, you WILL get to see it when it happens, but that's it. We must respect their privacy." Papa said nailing the fina- wait a goddamned second, what?!?!?

"Fineeeee…" Mother admitted defeat, but that didn't matter; what did he say?!?! Papa?!?!?!

"*Sigh* fine…spoilsports," Arthur said nodding to the sky, "As for the condition, it was for Catherine to not mess around with any Magical Girl, or otherwise for around two centuries. But since you both ascended as deities, I don't know if the conditions have changed; I'll take no responsibility for that."

"It is good enough," Papa said, Elizabeth could imagine him nodding and glaring at Mother, but that didn't matter to Elizabeth right now!

"...Fine. But if she isn't cute, your daughter will be a carbon copy of me. Only me. Bleh!" Mother said while sticking her tongue out. Elizabeth had no doubt about this since a small image of her materialized and did just that. But that was not important here!

"With that out of the way…What was the issue you wanted to solve Elizabeth?" Arthur asked as the presence of her parents vanished; no one questioned how poor Agatha was or how her parents had made a pseudo-divine descent either.

And Elizabeth, while she wanted to question it, there was something more important for her to question.

"...Any way to block my parents from seeing me…with my girlfriends….in our intimate moments?" Elizabeth asked as her face blushed more and more.

Arthur seemed uncomfortable with the question being directed at him, and Jenna also mildly blushed.

What?!?!?

A girl wanted privacy!

WOULD YOU WANT YOUR OWN MOTHER EATING FUCKING POPCORN WHILE YOU WERE FUCKING YOUR WIFE/HUSBAND?!?!? HUH?!?!?!?

SAY YES TO ME!

I FUCKING DARE YOU TO SAY YES THIS VERY MOMENT!

I WILL LITERALLY RIP APART THE FUCKING DIMENTIONAL WALLS AND BRING YOUR MOTHER FOR HER TO SEE YOU FUCKING YOUR PARTNER!

DON'T THINK I WON'T!

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